Friday, February 27, 2009

The Offering Of The Jewish Heart

Nesivos Sholom, ParshasTeruma:

A further elucidation of the verse about contributions for the Mishkan: "from each man who's heart prompts him" – so what should a Jew do who doesn't have a thing to offer as a contribution, in the sense of "for the poverty stricken there's nothing!"?

The advice for him is to fulfill: "who's heart prompts him." At the very least he should deliver his heart to G-d, may His great name be blessed. His heart should be a Jewish heart which is driven by the soul that continually yearns and even bursts, in the sense of pining and thirsting for the Divine Light as per the verse: "my soul thirsts for You; my flesh is ravenous for You!"

Not for a moment should he find peace with the reality that causes him to wander around without feelings of meaning or delight, even for the most sacred matters. He must persevere and anticipate the time that he'll return to feeling the pleasantness and delight of HisG-dliness, may He be blessed.

Such craving is what he has to offer and thereby fulfill "from each man who's heart prompts him." For this also qualifies as "My offering" (i.e. something that truly moves G-d). Even if in actuality he hasn't a thing to give, he should hold on by virtue of this power of craving within his heart.